New Columbus cafe offers healthy food and a chance to give back

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- When customers walk into the new Near East Cafe, they can order health-conscious menu items for under $12 while giving back to the community.

Nestled inside the Ohio State Healthy Community Center’s business incubator, the new Near East Cafe welcomes the neighborhood to its grand opening from 4-8 p.m. Friday. The cafe is a collaboration between local organizations Too Good Eats and Food Leads, and serves breakfast, lunch and beverages.

Too Good Eats and Food Leads are local social enterprises dedicated to local food access, and the collaboration wanted to bring that mission to its first storefront. Near East Cafe owners proudly said 50% of its profits are donated to supporting food access in central Ohio, without asking for more from customers.

“We were very intentional about creating a menu that not only is delicious and good with nutrition in mind, but also making sure that we keep our prices under that $12 price point,” Anique Russell, co-founder of Too Good Eats, said.

Christina Allen, founder and co-executive director of Food Leads, said she met Russell when she was first starting her nonprofit. Russell, who served as a mentor to Allen, was approached by Ohio State to submit a proposal to build a cafe and wanted to collaborate. 

“We went in and did a joint proposal together, really to create a space that provides not only healthy food for the community, but also … educational resources through our nonprofit programs,” Allen said. 

Allen said the donations will help support a variety of programs, such as a meal kit program providing diabetic-friendly, heart-healthy meals kits to families and foundational diabetic courses intended for those with recent diagnoses.

Near East Cafe has been operating since Aug. 7 in its soft opening phase, but its grand opening is its official kickoff. Russell said the event will be a party, complete balloon art, face painting and live music. 

Attendees will also be able to sample the menu. Both Allen and Russell highly recommend the jerk chicken bowl, which they said has been a favorite during the soft launch. The pair also hopes to promote the catering portion of their service, which they said they are especially proud of.

Above all, the pair said they are looking forward to connecting with the community they want to give back to.

"Obviously we are excited for people to taste our food as well, but the whole point of the party is to socialize," Allen said. "So we're really excited to meet everyone and just have a good time."

Those looking to visit the cafe outside of its opening can find it at 1600 E. Long St. every Wednesday through Sunday. Russell said the cafe is closed Monday and Tuesday to dedicate time to their other ventures and organizational needs for the cafe. The rest of the week, doors open at 7:30 a.m. weekdays and 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, closing at 3:30 p.m. each day.